Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream

A few days ago, a friend who was actually my locker partner in 7th grade posted that she was going to make strawberry balsamic ice cream. I wanted the recipe, she didn't have one "yet," so I decided to try making my own.

It all started with a trip with to Beechwood Farms in Marietta to pick strawberries with two of the amazing foodies I happen to work with. I wanted to make fresh strawberry ice cream, but I have struggled with getting to the right texture.

While I researched strawberry balsamic recipes, I came across a little tidbit that said that adding alcohol to ice cream helps it not get as hard. I imagine this has something to do with ice crystals, but I won't pretend to understand it exactly. I was willing to try anything.

I did not find a recipe that was all that inspiring, so I decided instead to adapt one from Alice Waters, since I have been trying to make the recipes from her cookbook, "The Art of Simple Food." The end result was interesting. I probably should have mashed the strawberries finer because the bigger pieces wrapped around the spinning parts of the ice cream maker, but I loved the texture in this ice cream. The balsamic I added (probably a bit too much) added so much depth of flavor, and the alcohol added both depth and did help the hardness issue. However the ice cream didn't make pretty scoops, so I still have more experimenting to do.

Strawberry Balsamic Ice CreamAdapted from Alice Waters' recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream, and a marvelous idea from an old friend.

In a small bowl whisk briefly, just enough to break up:3 egg yolks

Measure into a heavy-bottomed pot:3/4 cup half-and-half1/2 cup sugar

Set a strainer over a heat-proof bowl. Heat the half-n-half over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. When hot, whisk a little of the hot half-and-half into the egg yolks and then whisk the warmed yolks into the hot mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and quickly strain.

8 comments:

Yum! I just made a strawberry-rhubarb ice cream so this definitely sounds good to me! I also add a couple Tbsp of alcohol to my ice cream to help it stay soft. Sometimes it works better than others - I find if I use something sugary and flavored as opposed to plain vodka I get a softer ice cream, but then it might just be individual recipes. It helps a lot when you're doing it all sans ice cream machine, too!

I just made this recipe. It was so yummy. Probably the best homemade ice cream I have made. The flavors were to die for and the texture of the ice cream was so smooth and fluffy. I did not put the alcohol in it and it was great without. This recipe is a definite repeat!!! Thanks for sharing